A thick Dutch split-pea soup with smoked sausage (rookworst), celery, leek, and celeriac. So dense a spoon should stand upright in the bowl unaided.

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Make it at home

Serves 63 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 500g dried green split peas, rinsed
  • 1 smoked pork hock (or 300g smoked bacon hock)
  • 2 large rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage), or substitute kielbasa
  • 1 small celeriac (about 400g), peeled and diced
  • 3 leeks, washed and sliced
  • 4 celery sticks, sliced
  • 2 large carrots, diced
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • Salt, black pepper
  • Roggebrood and Dutch mustard, to serve

Method

  1. Soak split peas in cold water for at least 4 hours, then drain.
  2. Soften onions, leeks, celery, and garlic in oil in a large pot for 10 minutes.
  3. Add split peas, pork hock, bay, and 3 litres of water. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer covered for 90 minutes.
  4. Add celeriac and carrots. Continue simmering uncovered for another 45 minutes; the soup will thicken dramatically as the peas break down.
  5. Remove the pork hock. Shred the meat, discard the bone and skin, and return the meat to the soup.
  6. Slice the rookworst into rounds, add to the pot, and warm through for 5 minutes.
  7. Stand a spoon upright in the centre of the pot; if it stands without support, the soup is done. Season with pepper. Salt last (the smoked meat may have salted it already).

Editor tip. Erwtensoep is better on day two; cook ahead, refrigerate overnight, and reheat with a splash of water on day two for the canonical brown-cafe consistency.